The Bennett Group provides consulting services to individuals and corporate clients throughout the Southeast interested in the development and preservation of high density housing. From concept to completion, we serve as consultants or partners in residential and commercial ventures. We coordinate everything from site location and market analysis to project design, financing, construction and public relations.

We have more than 60 years experience in:

• Affordable Multifamily Apartment Communities:
  o Tax Credit (Section 42) Properties
  o Properties Utilizing HOME Funds with Tax Credits
  o HUD (Section 202) Communities for the Elderly
  o Acquisition/Rehab of Rural Housing Service Properties
  o Preservation/Recapitalization of HUD Section 202 Properties
• Market Rate and Luxury Apartment Communities:
  o HUD (Section 221d(4)) Apartment Communities
  o Commercially Financed Apartment Communities
  o Acquisition/Rehab/Repositioning of Older Communities
• Commercial Properties:
  o Office Parks
  o Mixed Use Properties
  o Single-Family Subdivision Development
  

We enjoy collaborating with others in the development of real estate. We do this in an expanding variety of ways:

We provide consulting/development services to non-profit organizations.

Example: In 2003, we began working with Aletheia House Executive Director, Chris Retan. Chris was interested in developing in-fill housing in the older Avondale neighborhood of Birmingham, Alabama, to provide “more permanent rental housing for graduates of the Aletheia House substance abuse program,” most of who would be moving out of transitional housing. In addition, he wanted this new housing to be “architecturally consistent with these 50-year old residences on 2nd Avenue.” We joined Aletheia House as co-developer, assisting Chris in assembling 22 semi-contiguous parcels of land in the neighborhood, putting together the development, construction and management teams, applying for tax credits from the Alabama Housing Finance Authority, and securing financing from both construction and permanent lenders. This project won the “Maxwell Award” from Fannie Mae as the “Most Outstanding Affordable Rental Community” in the nation in 2004.

We respond to individuals, organizations and municipalities with housing objectives.

We collaborate with others who are endeavoring to improve the living conditions of lower income people. This involves working with municipalities, non-profit community development organizations, public housing authorities, churches and faith-based groups interested in tapping housing resources of various types.

Example: Over several years, we have worked with the City of Auburn, Alabama, in the redevelopment of the Bedell Street neighborhood in northwest Auburn. The City has provided land and planning assistance for three properties we’ve developed for non-profit clients. In 1995, we worked with the Alabama Council on Human Relations (ACHR) to develop and build a 40-unit tax credit/HOME- financed apartment community known as Oakridge; in 1997, we worked with the Southeast Alabama Self-Help Association (SEASHA) to develop and build a 24-unit HUD Section 202-fianced community for the elderly); and in 2004, we worked again with ACHR to develop and build a 64-unit tax credit/conventionally financed apartment community known as Bedell Village.

We conceive and initiate our own projects, partnering with other investors, both individual and institutional.

Example: In 1996 Mr. Bennett, working with four other investors, co-developed a 100-acre planned unit development known as Central Park of Auburn. This property consists of commercial and professional office lots, as well as three phases of residential condominiums, known as The Residences of Central Park. The Residences is an upscale rental/condominium development consisting of 100 units configured in duplex, triplex and multiplex buildings. This office park has set the standard in this market for professional services, attracting physicians, dentists, investment bankers and others.